Designing the Widget: A Group Decision and Negotiation Task

The Widget design task is an in-class, experiential exercise that affords students the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills in group negotiation. Students engage in new product design in committees of two dyads where one dyad represents Consumer Research and the other represents Strategic Management. Task information creates different perspectives and requires committees to negotiate decisions about 10 Widget attributes. The exercise is applicable to courses focusing on negotiation, work teams, and myriad other organizational behavior topics (e.g., conflict, power, communication) where interactive activities are desirable to help students develop negotiation soft skills. The exercise is adaptable to work within a 75- or 50-minute class period, and can be enhanced using measures, inventories, or assignments completed outside of class time.